DEF LEPPARD On DRASTIC SYMPHONIES Songs TURN TO DUST/PAPER SUN/ANIMAL

Friday, 12th May 2023

Def Leppard 2023

Def Leppard members Joe Elliott and Phil Collen were interviewed last night and discussed new Drastic Symphonies album tracks.

The new album Drastic Symphonies will be released on Friday 19th May.

The album will feature 16 classic Def Leppard songs reworked and reimagined with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The first single 'Animal' was released to digital and streaming services on the same day as the announcement - listen below.

Talk Shop Live Drastic Symphonies Interview

Joe and Phil appeared on Talk Shop Live's Rock And Roll Channel last night to promote the new 'Drastic Symphonies' album.

Joe talked about the new Drastic Symphonies album, how the album project came about and then running through it track by track.

Watch the full 1 hour 13 minute minute interview below.

Drastic Symphonies Song Versions

Joe and Phil discussed many of the albums songs, both the originals and the reimagined versions.

These included 'Turn To Dust', 'Paper Sun' and the single 'Animal'.

Phil in particular giving more insight into the writing and recording of the original songs and cool anecdotes about 'Turn To Dust' and why it opens the album.

Visit the Tour News section. For more news on future tour plans.

Visit the Album News section for more news on new music (based on band member quotes).

Def Leppard 2023.

Joe Elliott/Phil Collen May 2023 Interview Quotes - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

Turn To Dust

Phil Collen

"Yeah I mean I come up with the idea for it originally. I was in India. So wouldn't you know it."

"Actually I was in a music store and there was this Sarangi. It's an instrument right. And it was this artist called Ram Narayan playing it."

"And got it back. And I've been to India many times and it has a Cast system. So this song is actually written about the untouchables or Dalits as they're called. They have different names and everything."

"And it's, you know, people who are basically totally ignored and shunned. So we have it in every society but that one in India seems more extreme because of the poverty and everything."

"So that's what the song was about and it had all this Indian style, you know, string thing."

"When we was doing the album I kind of arranged it on the guitar. Much as I could and then it was like."

"So we got this guy called Craig Pruess. Craig Pruess is actually, I think he's an American or a Canadian."

"But he sounds English. And he done all the stuff like Bend It Like Beckham and he done a lot of Bollywood stuff."

"All this stuff and he was amazing. So he done the string arrangement on that."

"And, you know, when this project came up Joe said well that would be such a great first song 'cause it's brave."

"And again everything about it lyrically and just emotionally and everything kind of really works."

"And another quick thing about it when we were recording Slang we were in Spain. It was done in Southern Spain."

"And it didn't rain there was a terrible drought. They would cut the water off at night so you wouldn't be able to turn your faucet on till the next morning. To stop people getting sprinklers out."

"And then one day it started pouring with rain. And everyone goes wow listen to that."

"And we had these microphones. So we just turned them outside and that's what you hear on that as well. So it's pretty magical. Everything about it has got a magical feel about it."

Def Leppard 2023.

Paper Sun

Joe Elliott

"Yeah I think it's really important that we set our stall out from minute one with this album. That we weren't just gonna be like "Do You Wanna Get Rocked?". You know what I mean because it's just inappropriate."

"There's a time and a place for everything and that wasn't it with that particular track."

"But to just bury those mid albums would have been a real shame because by virtue of the fact that these are re-records of previous known works."

"In a similar way I suppose to the new U2 one Songs Of Surrender. You're not gonna open the album with like, you know, Where The Streets Have No Name or something like that. Which is what they did on Joshua Tree."

"We wanted to make a statement. We wanted to go big at the front of the record because if they have heard these songs before they haven't probably heard them in a long time because Slang wasn't the biggest selling record we've ever done."

"But I think to put those two songs like Turn To Dust and Paper Sun at the front, really sets the agenda for the record that this is."

"It's a different beat. It's not just new icing on an original old cake. We've gone in there and re-worked all the ingredients."

"And I think it will grab the attention of a passing fan or a hardcore fan that we've been brave enough to go with something that was little known."

"And so it puts a focus on it almost like a new song. And for me it really works because then we slowly drip feed the ones that you've heard before."

"And it's just got really good stop off points in between where you hear something you know really well in a totally different way."

"And then tou hear a song that's maybe not that familiar, but they've all got a similar flavour because there's an orchestra leading the way on every song."

"15 on vinyl. 16 on CD and streaming and what have you. And that's the thread."

"So that enabled us to be brave enough to have a running order that wasn't what you might look at and go, makes sense."

"If we did this in order with the other songs, the original versions, it might sound a bit quirky."

"And it doesn't on here because the strings are the lead star on this album and that's why I think it works so well."

Def Leppard 2023.

Animal

Phil Collen

"We do. Interestingly enough on this one. There was an original version we'd demoed. And we started recording it on the Hysteria album."

"We got to Paris. We got to this studio in Paris and Joe done this lead vocal. And Mutt went This vocal's so good we should throw the track away and re-record the track around this vocal."

"So that's what we did. We kept Joe's original vocal."

"And what we do on this one. It was such a great vocal that you can do that with it."

"And that's really what happened here. We kind of took all the, you know, version two out as well."

"You know the one that everyone - the hit. You know from Hysteria. Took that out, kept the vocal and started introducing things after the strings had been done."

"You know tympanys and stuff like that. Take the drums and the guitars out of it and really let the vocal do it's thing."

"And like I said you know before I remember sitting in Paris and Mutt going wow listen to this vocal. Joe had just done this thing. it was like whoah, let's keep that. Bang go again."

"So again we pretty much done the same thing. So that made it an easier process."

Watch the event on the Talk Shop Live site (or the embed below).

New Single - Hysteria (feat. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)

01 - Hysteria - 5:54 - Amazon - (MP3)